Natura Luxury Boutique Hotel — Hotel in Skopelos Municipality

I booked to stay here with my mum for 4 nights in August having been offered a "special" rate for a superior suite with mini pool. I should have known then to be suspicious that the hotel had so much availability when everywhere else was nearly or fully booked. From the outset it became clear this was not the luxury hotel it claims to be. We had endless issues which included:||Our outside tiny private pool area barely got any sun, was dirty and lethally slippery|The frosted sliding door in front of the shower and toilet cubicles (which are miniscule and within the room), did not close properly giving absolutely no privacy. The room itself was very dark and certainly not a ''superior suite" as claimed. |There was a metal walkway over our patio/pool area and the noise was horrendous (it was impossible to get any rest during the day)|The hotel was clearly understaffed. A cleaning trolley with dirty plates on was left outside our landing for the full time we were there. The pool had very short opening hours because the poor girl working there had to cover breakfast and dinner shift as well (this is a hotel that tries to charge 500 euros a night but won't pay to staff itself properly)|The so called "state of the art" fitness room was a dingy basement with office tiles, strip lighting, a nasty broken step going in to it and old and basic equipment.|Access to the pool area was APPALLING, which is not mentioned at any point on their website. My mum is 81 and fairly mobile but the huge number of dangerous and steep stairs made access almost impossible. There was a handrail but it was painted black and in the sun and my mum burnt her hand trying to use it. Anyone with wet feet from the pool would find it difficult and treacherous.||It became clear that the hotel was not what it claimed to be and was starting to cause us distress and upset. I went to the front desk and explained the issues and politely asked if I could talk to the manager or reservations manager as we wanted to cut our stay short and be refunded for the remaining 3 nights given all the issues. The change in demeanor from the staff was instant. They became defensive, rude and unpleasant. I told them how upset my mum was and they did at least agree they didn't want anyone to be upset and they could understand the issue with the stairs to the pool. I was told I couldn't talk any managers in person but to go and wait in our room which we did. Eventually I got a very curt call from the receptionist to say the reservations manager had agreed to fully refund our remaining 3 nights, even though we had booked on a non-refundable rate because of all the issues. We were even offered if we wanted to leave straight away and have a 4 night full refund (by that point it was too late in the day). Based upon this information we felt very relieved and made plans to move on the next day to a different hotel. Upon check out we again received confirmation that we would receive our refund (although the staff got quite unpleasant about it whilst my mum and I remained polite but firm) The staff also confirmed that the previous day they had readvertised our room for the 3 nights, given the agreement to refund us. I sent a follow up email that day and got a written response confirming our refund would take 10 days (screenshot attached). As you will see from the tone it was all left very cordially.||What has followed has been a total nightmare, caused huge amount of upset and stress and cast such a shadow over our trip. At first when I didn't receive the promised refund I was told it was because they hadn't got my bank details (they had from my original transfer but I sent them again). Still nothing.... then I was told it was with their accountants.... then next that it was with their lawyers yet refused to give me the email of either or of the hotel manager. They ignored emails, didn't even have the courtesy to acknowledge them as requested, I tried calling, messaging and contacting them on facebook - they duly blocked me. I was simply astounded, I have travelled extensively and never ever come across such a dishonest and unprofessional establishment. I managed to get hold of someone in September and was told the matter was still with their lawyers and that I would have to be patient. ||Once again, nothing. Finally today I spoke to someone on the phone (having had yet more emails and phone calls ignored) and was absolutely flabbergasted to be told that they were now refusing a refund at all. The story had changed yet again and they claimed that the Ts and Cs of their website say any mobility issues should be declared before arrival and that they only agreed to refund in the first place because of "pressure". Given that the original confirmation of the refund was over the phone not face to face I'm not sure how this is "pressure" and as you will see from the email confirming the refund it was all left on a polite note. At no point in talking to them did they bring up this clause that they are now claiming about mobility. My mum is mobile enough but those dangerous steps to the pool should clearly be declared on their website and would be a challenge for anyone, let alone all the other issues that don't match up to the promised service and standard on their website Plain and simply had we been told we could not have a refund we would have had to put up with the situation and stayed put as we simply could not afford to lose 590 euros. We made plans based on what we were promised by the hotel as any person would. It is worth noting that at no point an alternative room or any other solution was offered. 590 euros is an enormous amount of money to anyone and therefore I urge travellers to AVOID THIS HOTEL AT ALL COSTS to save putting themselves through this horrible nightmare.| |There are so many lovely other places on the Sporades islands where you will get honest, welcoming and fabulous service do not be fooled by this...

AVOID THIS HOTEL AT ALL COSTS. Dishonest, appalling customer service, absolutely not 5*. I booked to stay here with my mum for 4 nights in August. From the outset it became clear this was not the luxury hotel it claims to be. We had endless issues which included: -Our outside tiny private pool area & patio barely got any sun, was dirty & lethally slippery. -The frosted sliding door in front of the shower & toilet cubicles (which are miniscule & within the room), did not close properly giving absolutely no privacy. -The room itself was v. dark & certainly not a ''superior suite" -There was a metal walkway over our patioarea & the noise was horrendous.-The hotel was clearly understaffed- a cleaning trolley with dirty plates on was left outside our landing for the full time we were there. The pool had v. short opening hours because the girl working there had to cover breakfast & dinner shift as well. -The so called "state of the art" fitness room was a dingy basement with strip lighting, a nasty broken step on entry & old/basic equipment. -Access to the pool area was APPALLING, which is not mentioned at any point on their website. My mum is 81 & fairly mobile but the number of dangerous & steep stairs made access almost impossible. There was a handrail but it was painted black & in the sun & my mum burnt her hand trying to use it. It became clear that the hotel was not what it claimed to be & making us upset. I went to the front desk & explained the issues & politely requested to speak to the manager as we wanted to cut our stay short & be refunded for the remaining 3 nights given all the problems. The change in demeanour from the staff was instant, they became defensive & rude. I was told I couldn't talk to any managers in person but to go and wait in our room. Eventually I got a very curt call to say the reservations manager had agreed to fully refund our remaining 3 nights, even though we had booked on a non-refundable rate, because of all the issues. Based upon this information we felt v. relieved & made plans to move on the next day. Upon check out we again received verbal confirmation that we would receive our refund (although the staff got quite unpleasant about it whilst we remained polite but firm) The staff also confirmed that the previous day they had readvertised our room for the 3 nights, given the agreement to refund us. I sent a follow up email that day & got a written response confirming our refund would take 10 days. What has followed has been horrendously stressful. At first when I didn't receive the promised refund I was told it was because they hadn't got my bank details, so I resent them. Still nothing, then I was told it was with their accountants, then that it was with their lawyers yet they refused to give me the email address of either or of the hotel manager. They ignored emails, phone calls, messages & when I contacted them on facebook they blocked me! I have travelled extensively & never come across such a dishonest & unprofessional establishment. I managed to speak to someone in September and was told the matter was still with their lawyers & that I would have to be patient. Still no refund. Finally, I again spoke to them on the phone (having had more emails & calls ignored) & was flabbergasted to be told that they were now refusing a refund at all. The story had changed yet again & they claimed that the Ts and Cs of their website say any mobility issues should be declared before arrival & that they only agreed to refund in the first place because of "pressure". Given that the original confirmation of the refund was over the phone not face to face I'm not sure how this was "pressure" & as you will see from the email confirming the refund it was all left on a polite note. Had we been told we could not have a refund we would have had to put up with the situation & stayed put as we simply could not afford to lose 590 euros. We made plans based on what we were promised by the hotel. I urge travellers to AVOID THIS HOTEL AT ALL COSTS to save putting themselves through this...

The hotel is located at the Glossa port on the very quiet side of Skopelos Island. You can take a bus over to the Skopelos port. The service in this hotel is absolutely the best I have experienced anywhere staying at 5 star hotels around the world. The front desk team members - Eleni, Angie and George were very helpful with everything from getting Netflix working (Angie came up and fixed our TV internet connection and got us logged in), to restaurant reservations and arranging for Taxis and excursions such as sailing to Alonnisos and the wildlife refuge. The highlight of our trip and purpose of our visit was the amazing Mamma Mia private tour hosted by Eva. She had wonderful knowledge of the sites and got us into areas where the larger tours cannot go because of the roads. She also took us to a wonderful small,5th generation family olive oil factory where we learned how the olives are processed to make olive oil. We tasted each kind of olive oil and purchased some and olives at very reasonable prices and it was all so fresh from the source. We also had a few hours at Paraiso, which is the sister property’s private beach with sunbeds, a restaurant and beach bar. It was stunningly beautiful and the best quality service, food, drinks and setting that you could imagine. We had visited several other beaches on Skopelos and Skiathos and this was the best!

The hotel breakfast and dinner were very good and so convenient. The dining area is outside and had a beautiful view of the port. It is quiet and romantic. You can stroll along the area or get some great exercise in walking around the port and there are many options for restaurants to try as well as a supermarket close by.

If you need to come in and out of Skiathos, I would recommend Jason’s sea taxi that was recommended by the hotel. He is much more flexible with times and has great service and is not crowded like the big ferries. It was easy to get to the port and hotel using his service.

You can rent a car (limited automatics) and explore the island. It is very mountainous and natural with stunning views. There are many hiking trails as well and we saw people riding bicycles as well. It is a place that you need to spend a few days and then you will get the vibe of the place and will be thinking about the next time that...